


Isolate

by Raptor_Redemption



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blind Character, Domestic Fluff, Gladio loves him anyway, Ignis works too hard, M/M, Married Couple, Overworking, There's a pandemic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29022534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raptor_Redemption/pseuds/Raptor_Redemption
Summary: Five years after the sun's return, the Starscourge has returned to plague Eos. Insomnia as Gladio and Ignis know it is gone, replaced by lockdowns and stay-at-home orders that mean Ignis handles perhapstoo muchgovernment work from the kitchen table. When sleep eludes him and he knows only the stress of his responsibilities, Gladio reminds him of what's important.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	Isolate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tigris_Lilium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigris_Lilium/gifts).



> It's a bit on the nose given the past year of our lives, but sometimes we just like to imagine our faves in the same situations we're in. I hope it brings some of you a simple comfort in a difficult time. ♥️ 
> 
> Thank you for being such an incredible, thoughtful, and generous friend, Julie. Love you!

It’s incredible how much Ignis is able to accomplish from his home. He’s lost not an hour of productivity since the initial declarations were made, since the only people he’s been able to convene with in person have been his closest circle–Gladio, Noctis, Prompto, and Cor.

For so long, the Kingdom of Lucis and the rest of Eos thought that the Starscourge was gone from this world, banished by the sun’s return and the Lucian king with it. Five years later, who knew that this could happen? That once again the scourge would keep them all in a state of perpetual danger and torment?

Nonetheless, Ignis has continued to work. Each day, Gladio has watched him wake with his alarm at the same time. For a while, he stuck to his nightly routine, too. Gladio joked that Ignis was making them all look bad, because who could ever expect to be  _ this  _ productive during a worldwide pandemic?

Actually, it may be transforming Ignis into even  _ more  _ of a workaholic.

Technology has made it easy enough for Ignis to take on even more work than usual. Gladio doesn’t remember the last time he’s made it through so much as breakfast before hearing the quick, familiar narration of Ignis’s screen reader at the table as it recounts texts, emails, and propositions that Ignis will need to brief himself on in order to advise Noctis during the day.

Gladio suspects that his husband needs to take a rest, but he holds off on mentioning anything of the sort.  _ It’s okay _ , he thinks at first.  _ Ignis has always been like this. It’s what he loves.  _ Besides, he knows how Ignis gets when anyone dares instruct him to abandon productivity. 

But when Ignis has a particularly difficult couple of days sleeping, Gladio’s suspicion of overwork turns to certainty.

It’s not uncommon for visually impaired individuals to have trouble finding even a semi-regular sleep schedule–Ignis has thoroughly explained this to Gladio many times before, and Gladio knows the struggle well from watching his husband fluctuate from schedule to schedule over the years. Sunlight is the natural regulator of a person’s Circadian rhythm. Without it, the need for sleep comes and goes when it pleases. Gladio himself experienced something much the same during Noctis’s ten years away from them, but he at the very least had the occasional relief of fluorescent bulbs during the days before Lestallum finally fell to the cruelty of a world without sun.

He knows that his own insomnia is nothing like Ignis’s and never was.

It’s four in the morning when he hears an alarming clatter of pots and pans in the kitchen downstairs. He flings tangled sheets from his lower half and hurries to the source in nothing but his socks and underwear.

“No, no, it’s okay! I’m all right!” Gladio hears Ignis’s assurance halfway down the stairs–are his footsteps really so loud?

“Iggy, it’s four in the morning.”

Ignis sighs, places the two pots and a pan who were culprits of the noise onto the counter, then leans against it. His shoulders slouch.

Ignis’s shoulders so rarely slouch.

“I know it is. I’m sorry that I woke you. Believe it or not, I was attempting to take care of myself for once and make some of that chamomile tea you all forced on me for nights like this.”

_ You’re going to need more than chamomile tea to fix this _ , Gladio wants to say, but he doesn’t. After all these years, he’s learned to hold his tongue sometimes. “You know what you need more than tea?” Gladio asks as he circles the kitchen island and warns Ignis of his presence with a gentle touch against his hip.

A little hum is the only response he gets, and it already sounds agitated. Ignis isn’t going to like this one bit, but it has to be said.

“A break.”

“How did I know you were going to say that?” Ignis grins as he crosses his arms, but Gladio can tell from the tension in his shoulders and the way that his fingers are clenched against his biceps that he’s annoyed.

Gladio slides the hand on Ignis’s waist around to the small of his back and lets his other hand join, too. He never ceases to be amazed by how neatly Ignis can fit into his body, within an embrace or when Ignis presses back against Gladio during sleep. “Look,” he says. “We’re all stressed right now. There’s not a single person in the whole damned world who isn’t affected by this, but it’s not going to be forever.”

“It will be if  _ people like us  _ don’t continue their government duties–”

Gladio hopes that the kiss he plants to the crown of Ignis’s head will be enough to silence him. Thankfully, it is.

“I’m just asking for a couple of days, Iggy. I talked to Noct about it. It’s  _ fine _ . You’ve done more in this situation than anyone can possibly expect of you, and we want you to be okay.

“We love you.”

Ignis’s body loosens in Gladio’s grasp, little by little. Arms clamped across one another fall to Ignis’s side, then find their way around Gladio’s waist. For a long time, they stand in the kitchen like this. 

“It’s hard,” Ignis says simply. It breaks the silence and brings Gladio out of his thoughts.

“Fuck yeah it is.” He considers for a moment, and he feels Ignis’s head perk beneath him as he prepares to listen. “We’ve been through worse, though. Well, maybe not worse. Different?”

When Ignis chuckles, Gladio feels the hot rush of air against his neck. “I know what you mean.”

Gladio lets Ignis free, and his palms slide down Ignis’s arms until they reach his hands. 

“Can I at least make my tea?”

The question is simple and yet so innocent, such a pure request amongst a world full of violent demand.

“Yeah,” Gladio says. “I’ll make you tea. I’ll make you tea as many nights as you want, as long as you promise to take better care of yourself and to let  _ us  _ care for you, too.”

With a nod, Ignis accepts.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/raptor_redeem)!
> 
> Take care of yourselves, everyone.


End file.
